I would like to invite you to be part of this Weekly Magazine by raising questions and giving me suggestions through e-mail so this magazine can become a good material for all flamenco lovers, researchers and musicians. Enjoy it!

My question is about a guitar that does not tune really well, let me explain myself. I have an expensive guitar that has issues with the drilling on the bridge orifices similar to those you showed in this video:

Being the case that such gross inaccuracies are there I was in shook to infer or think about how exact really were the measurements for the setting of the top in relation to the fret board. The guitar does not tune to my ears and now I am also attributing it to the fact that the top has fresh wood. In just one year it already bended making shorter the distances between both nuts in reference to the 12 fret.

What can I do?

ANSWER:

In fact you are right, if the top is bended that will cause the guitar to be out of tune.

I exemplify that problem you are talking about on minute 6:00 of this video:

The only repair for that extreme problem on the top is to change it and re-fret the guitar again, which is like a heart transplant. This is not very advisable because of two reasons:

1) It's not sure that the guitar can come “back to life”

2) To perform that repair properly will cost at least 1,200 euro.

Many people wrote to me saying similar things and, in the best cases, they end up selling their defective guitar and buying a proper one.

This tuning feature is really an issue because is not a good idea to continue practicing or playing with a guitar that does not even tune well.

As you know the fretboard is divided into 4 main zones to consider in this regard, namely:

I) From 1st fret to the 4th fret.

II) From the 5th fret to the 8th fret.

III) From the 9th fret to the 12th fret.

IV) From the 13th fret to the 16th fret.

The weakest zones in guitars with poor calibration of the fretboard and setting of the top are I and IV, while in bended ones are generally more evident in zones II & III.

I hope this information will be helpful to you.

B.- Videos of the Week:

1) Training in a Rhythmic Context (3 videos)

2) Exploring Melodies over the Andalusian Cadence (5 videos)

1) Training in a Rhythmic Context

2) Exploring Melodies over the Andalusian Cadence

C.- Video Recommendation of the Week:

1) Keith Jarret. The Art of Improvisation. (A documentary in 6 parts)

This is a must for all musicians who aspire to master the art of improvisation. The great Keith Jarret very generously conveys his insights about improvisation in the deepest way possible. This documentary features great jazz stars as Chick Corea, Jack DeJohnette, Gary Peacock, David Holland between others.